John Wood Group rejects takeover bids from US private equity firm Apollo

Apollo has until 22 March to announce a firm intention to make a takeover offer or walk away

The Aberdeen-based energy services and consulting firm John Wood Group has rejected three takeover approaches from Apollo Global Management, in the latest private equity raid on a UK company.

The FTSE-250 company said in a stockmarket filing on Wednesday it had rebuffed all unsolicited proposals from the US private equity firm, with the most recent approach in late January valuing it at £1.59bn. The cash offer for all of its shares was worth 230p each.